Interviews: Young Other
In this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Rock band Young Other from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?
Dale Belliveau: The band name “Young Other” holds a very personal meaning to me and it was something I was sitting on for a few years before Brandon and I started the project. The name “Young Other” resembles someone who passed away at a young age, or younger than you. It’s the thought of that person when you think of them, the last time you saw them, never getting any older or having their hair turn gray. Your mind will always hold onto that same image of them like a photograph.
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
Dale Belliveau: I feel we never really chose a genre to play and this sound is what pours out of all of us. It’s a part of everyone’s influences and their backgrounds all put together to create the sound that our hearts are looking to share with the world. It gives our hearts a voice.
Brandon Hursey: Well I originally played a lot of types of metal music. Young Other has been a flexible mix of rock, hard rock, and alt-rock to me. When the band first started the songs we wrote were mainly myself on instruments with Dale writing vocals, and the metal influence was definitely prominent, but I loved having the freedom to get more diverse. As the band progressed and we solidified this line up we certainly gravitated away from the metal sound (although it absolutely still left a hint of it) and have pushed more towards the rock sound. I personally find it more fun, I’m always trying to incorporate multiple styles of music and fuse it into the sound that we consider “Young Other” and I find that the genre allows for a flexible chance to throw in some heavier tracks, or melodic tracks, while still having the freedom to write some softer or more pop sounding songs. The upcoming EP displays that pretty well in my opinion!
Devin Stetson: Hard rock has always had a place in my heart. When I was really young I remember sneaking into my parent's CD collection and throwing in Godsmacks first album by chance, ever since that day I've been in love with the hard rock genre one hundred percent!
Kyle Shays: I wanted to play something different. I was bored with Heavy Metal and it required to much work/practice to keep up the speeds. Working full time and having responsibilities that were near impossible. Rock was more fun and interesting to me so I tried it out and I loved it. Also, there are too many metal bands out there and every show I played all sounded the same. I wanted to sound different and stand out
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
Dale Belliveau: Brandon and I were childhood friends and we grew up together. During our high school years, we drifted apart and started our own projects but shortly after graduation, we ended up reconnecting and decided to make to a new sound. We later found both Devin and Kyle from two separate bands who we ended up playing with. They had a strong interest in the music and Brandon ended upbringing Kyle into the band, and after three attempts of me reaching out to Devin saying we needed a bassist, he finally decided to give it a go and the rest fell into place.
Brandon Hursey: Funny story, Dale and I were actually childhood friends. We grew apart after I had moved away when I was about 11 or 12 maybe. Years later we were both playing in separate bands and had played the same show. Dale recognized me and talked to me without missing a beat, but I had no clue who Dale was. When we were young he had a shaved head, and a MUCH higher-pitched voice hahaha. A year or two later he offered to help me move into my apartment, and a mutual friend was also there and that's when I had made the connection. Within that year we started working together into what would become Young Other!
We had met Devin at a show we played with the original lineup we had, and when it came time to rekindle everything Dale reached out and got Devin to come in on bass!
During the time period, Young Other had gone onto hiatus I played in another band for a while, with Kyle drumming. Through that band, Kyle and I had developed a friendship, and It was initially when Kyle had heard the old Young Other tracks and he offered to come to play drums for us, that we decided to get everything moving again.
Devin Stetson: I actually played a show with Young Other before I was in the line up in Salisbury, MA right on the beachfront at the Carousel Lounge. It was an absolute blast and we even took an old Polaroid picture together in the venue to remember the night by. A few months after that dale was looking to reform the band. I accepted after inquiry number three as my life had finally aligned to be able to grab at the awesome opportunity. So glad I accepted!
Kyle Shays: I knew Brandon from a past project we were in and I offered to play drums here because we already had music chemistry.
4. Each band member favorite band?
Dale Belliveau: I spent most of my teenage years into the 90s Seattle scene and eventually fell in love with Alice In Chains. I’ve branched off since then and I’ve heavily been into a lot more of the hard rock and more melodic of today like Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, Starset, and Hands Like Houses.
Brandon Hursey: I’m all over the place, but if I had to pinpoint a few of them I’d go with Shinedown, Bullet For My Valentine, and Katy Perry (if that counts as a band?)
Devin Stetson: It's not easy to choose just one with all the great acts in the world, but if I had to choose I'd have to give it to Tool.
Kyle Shays: Crown The Empire & Bullet For My Valentine
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
Dale Belliveau: Most of my songs are direct personal experiences of what I’ve been at war with or a certain topic that I feel strongly about. One of my best friends who committed suicide when I was 17 is also someone who inspires me to write, I feel our chemistry that we had through music keeps him alive in my heart and I greatly appreciate that.
Brandon Hursey: A lot of different factors. Sometimes it could be my mood, once in a while I just play noises in my head and eventually transcribe them to my guitar. Something I’ve been doing a little bit of recently is playing off of vocal melodies/themes. I enjoy putting myself into the mindset of a theme or lyric and just molding a sound to it. Also, we tend to just jam random riffs at a practice which inevitably turn into a song of some sort. That’s how three of the tracks on the upcoming EP were written actually!
Devin Stetson: Honestly it's a balance between personal life experiences and the chemistry I have with the other members. We take our lives, our pain, our love, our passion and pour it into the music. I feel with every song our bond gets stronger and with that, the music grows! Oh and a fun thing to add to the list is my birthday! We have actually written full songs on my birthday for two years running at this point, so there is that magical element as well!
Kyle Shays: My feelings. I'm very emotional and complicated and music is my outlet. I feel every note, every change in my heart and it just pours out. We wrote BTF's EP in almost 1 sitting per song.
6. Where was your last gig?
Dale Belliveau: Our last gig was July 13th, 2019 at the Fete Music Hall opening up for Puddle of Mudd and Sponge. It was a great festival event and the turnout was amazing, we made so many new friends!
Brandon Hursey: At the time of writing this, our last gig was in Providence Rhode Island, playing at The Fete for Big Kahuna 4 alongside Puddle of Mudd, Sponge, and some extremely talented local bands like Carpathia, Grace Drive, Parts Per Million, Sixteenx20, and many more. I highly recommend checking out the event page and looking up some of these bands! We couldn’t have been more humbled by the audience and support we received!
Devin Stetson: Fete Music Hall, and it was the best show to date in my opinion!
Kyle Shays: My last gig with YO was in NY.
7. Where would you like to act?
Dale Belliveau: Some of my favorite shows that we’ve played weren’t even at elaborate venues. I’m much happier performing anywhere people truly enjoy and feel the music that is being played. The emotional response and connection are what is most important to me, and that’s what I’m looking to find.
Brandon Hursey: Acting? I’m not a great actor, I make a couple of tiny cameos in our next video coming out along with the EP, and if I had the outtakes present I think it would make for a great comedy short hahaha. Performance-wise, I’m pretty open to any stage. I would love to play stadiums one day, but I would assume that's any musicians dream, but along with everyone else in Young Other, I think I can confidently say any venue is a fun time for us!
Devin Stetson: I've always wanted to play the Sydney Opera House, I know it's a big goal but the first time I had the pleasure of seeing it on TV I was totally in awe! I knew it was the ultimate jackpot of venues and I had to chase it!
Kyle Shays: I would love to play Mohegan Sun main stage. That stage is so powerful. It makes the Palladium feel tiny.
8. Whom would you like to feature with?
Dale Belliveau: That’s a good question! I feel a lot of people, including myself, would like to feature with some big-name bands like Shinedown, Three Days Grace, Disturbed, etc, but I’ve really enjoyed a lot of the upcoming bands lately. There’s just so much new raw talent that is rising that I’d love to collaborate with. Bands like Blacktop Mojo, Joyous Wolf, Awake At Last, Any Given Sin, Saul, I feel like working on a track with those guys would be a great experience.
Brandon Hursey: Well our next single has a feature with Lexie Hannah, of Frantic Endeavor. She absolutely nailed her part, and has become a part of the family! I don’t think it could’ve fit any better for the track personally. If I had an option to feature with anyone else I would love to work with Brent Smith of Shinedown, maybe Matt Tuck from Bullet For My Valentine. More realistic/local I definitely wanna co-write with our producer, Chris Piquette, soon. He added the production for this EP (and mixed/mastered) and to work more hands-on with someone so talented and diverse is something I would love to do! I think it would be fun to write some guitar solos on pretty much any track available to me as well, I love writing guitar solos/leads hahaha.
Devin Stetson: Definitely any of the dudes from Godsmack, that would end up being a dream come true considering my introduction to the genre.
Kyle Shays: I would love to feature with Shinedown. I think we're right up that alley and people would love us. I would obviously love to feature with my favorite bands but they are more metal than rock. Hand Like House is a good one too.
9. Whom not?
Dale Belliveau: I can’t really think of any bands off the top of my head that I wouldn’t want to work with, I feel there’s always something you can learn from anybody, even if you don’t enjoy the genre of music.
Brandon Hursey: That’s a tricky question. I think the only person I can think of is Dale Belliveau. That guy is a pain.
Devin Stetson: To be fair I'd be down to experiment, jam, and collab with any artist, I like to keep it open-ended and creative!
Kyle Shays: Not sure actually. I think any situation will be fun and having a difference is not a bad thing. We should be trying to reach out to everybody and different genre's. Who knows, they may like us
10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?
Dale Belliveau: When I first started playing shows when I was 17, my stage fright was at an all-time high. I never left my mic stand, I didn’t move around or get anything going. I feel once I became comfortable with the band that was behind me at the time, everything started to get so much easier. Once you play enough shows, you start to let the music take over and let go all of all the insecurities until you’re set free.
Brandon Hursey: My first time on a stage was alone in front of 90% of my high school for the talent show. I was a little nervous but after that, the rest seemed pretty straight forward. I just play guitar, I think I would crap my pants if I had to use a microphone though.
Devin Stetson: I did originally struggle with stage fright but eventually I kept telling myself "I'm not nervous I'm excited" over and over, and I think eventually it clicked in my brain. Now any butterflies or nerves get transformed into an electric current that drives me on stage!
Kyle Shays: I always do. The best advice is to eat lightly, go to the bathroom plenty of times, drink water, deep breaths, stretch, and remember to have fun. What's the point of doing this if you're not having fun? If you mess up. Smile, laugh and engage with the crowd. They'll find it funny too and shit happens. Even to Metallica
11. What bands have inspired you the most?
Dale Belliveau: I’d have to say bands like Alice In Chains and Shinedown have inspired me the most. I’ve always loved the dynamic duo voices of Alice In Chains that would give the music so much more emotion and variety of what could be done in the music. I feel Brent Smith of Shinedown is one of the best frontmen in rock music today. His energy every single show, when he gets up on stage every night, is consistent, he focuses a lot on his physical health to provide the best show he can for his fans on all of his tours. I want to be able to deliver the best show experience every show I can for people and leave with an experience that will sit with them and possibly give the recordings a whole new emotional feel to them after seeing us live.
Brandon Hursey: Definitely Shinedown. They have a diverse approach to each release, and there aren’t very many tracks they’ve come out with that I dislike. Their live show is very entertaining as well, and that is absolutely something that myself and the rest of Young Other strive for.
Devin Stetson: Tool is a big one, Justin Chancellor inspired me to use a pick and on top of that his writing style and tone are absolutely incredible. On the other end of the spectrum, there's ultimate three-piece Rush. Geddy Lee was the reason I really became fascinated with singing and playing at the same time. The way he could operate and deliver so much through one conscience was awe-inspiring and definitely made me want to push myself as a musician.
Kyle Shays: Metallica is my main inspiration. Ever since I was a kid. I always wanted to be them. 1980's Seattle Live is my dream show.
12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?
Dale Belliveau: I haven’t really had any odd encounters with our fans. I’ve had a few people come up to me wanting to touch my hair but that’s about it, nothing too crazy.
Brandon Hursey: Well I wasn’t asked for it, but one time I was high fiving some fans at the end of a set that had really enjoyed the show. I had my guitar pick in my mouth and accidentally drooled on one of them and they screamed that they were never washing that cheek again. I think that’s one of the few things that have stuck out to me in my time performing hahaha.
Devin Stetson: Well I definitely believe it was a joke but a strand of my luscious golden locks.
13. What do you think of your fans?
Dale Belliveau: I absolutely love our fans, they’re a family to me. I spent five years of my life being surrounded by people who didn’t want me to pursue my love for music because it “wasn’t worth it” and it’s “impossible to live a normal life through”. I don’t understand how I became so blind to their words and why I was trying to change myself for someone else but that ended in a way I wasn’t expecting it to and it was honestly the best thing that could’ve happened to me. The music scene picked me up and I’ve been surrounded by so many loving people, it’s a bit overwhelming when you’re used to people filling you will negativity, but I would change a thing.
Brandon Hursey: I think they’re the best! Any fan of my/Young Other’s work is always a welcome addition to the family, we couldn’t do what we do without them and the support we receive is absolutely humbling.
Devin Stetson: l think Young Other fans are awesome! I love them all! Anytime we're at a show hanging out with the crowd I go home with a collection of heartwarming memories made with new and old fans alike! It's truly special chemistry that we have with them and I'm ever grateful for that fact. I guess to sum them up to their magical!
Kyle Shays: I think our fans are fantastic and I appreciate all of them. We can't make it further without them.
14. What do you think of our site?
Dale Belliveau: I really enjoy the website! It’s organized and easy to navigate. I enjoy how diverse Breathing The Core is as well with their teams' vast diversity in music genres.
Brandon Hursey: The site is awesome. I’ll definitely have to go through and check out some of the other bios and interviews online! I love the organization on it too, very well put together!
Devin Stetson: it's a portal to a wonderful archive of excellent bands and artists! I'm truly excited to be involved!
15. Something add?
Dale Belliveau: I greatly appreciate the time being given to interview us in Young Other! August 16th we’re releasing our first EP titled, “Between The Few”. I’m really excited to share the music and hear how it may resonate with people and their lives. Thank you so much!
Brandon Hursey: Thanks so much for the opportunity to share some of our story and background! We couldn’t be more excited to have this release cycle going on and look forward to our EP dropping on August 16th, 2019!
Devin Stetson: I’m very excited about the future of the band, and excited for the memories that will be made! I love everyone who has been involved so far and I am eager to grow the YO family! Rock on everyone! Music for life!
Kyle Shays: I am unfortunately no longer in YO due to work and school opportunities, but my man Adam Neufell will be tearing it up for me. He's a great dude, learns quick, and fits right in. Treat him well! I'll be around and who knows maybe I'll fill in once in a while! The journey has been fun and enlightening! I don't regret anything.
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